Reform of Russia’s rocket and space industry to take 10 years

The reformation of the Russian rocket and space industry will take up to ten years, Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) Head Igor Komarov said on Tuesday.

"In the next five and ten years, the task will be to reform the sector," he said in the Federation Council, the upper house of Russia’s parliament.

For this purpose, a decision has been made to centralize Roscosmos, turn it into a state corporation and authorize it to carry out effective reforms, Komarov said.

The Russian president and the government has set Roscosmos the task to mobilize and centralize the management of over 80 companies, design bureaus and R&D institutes within a short period of time, the Roscosmos head said.

The next stage of reforms will deal with the issues of state and private partnership and the attraction of private capital to the rocket and space industry, he added.

All enterprises in the rocket and space industry will be corporatized, Komarov said.

"The government has decided on transforming all enterprises into joint stock companies," he said.

Roscosmos state corporation that will be established will aim to reduce budget expenditures on implementing state tasks in the space industry.

"One area is to increase the export potential and commercialize the space industry’s activity," the Roscosmos head said.

The Russian government will shortly consider the issue of commercializing the space industry’s services, he added.